Written Answers Monday 13 August 2007

Scottish Executive

Alcohol Misuse

Hugh O'Donnell (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-1564 by Kenny MacAskill on 16 July 2007, whether it is considering any new measures to reduce the purchase or acquisition of alcohol by young people.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government is considering a range of options in relation to this issue as part of work on developing a long-term alcohol strategy.

Ambulance Service

Jamie Hepburn (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many personnel have been employed by the Scottish Ambulance Service in each year since 1990, broken down by grade.

Nicola Sturgeon: Information prior to 1994 in not centrally held, however headcount and whole-time equivalent (WTE) numbers in each staff group employed from 1994 in the Scottish Ambulance Service by grade are outlined in the following tables 1 and 2. The information is shown as at 30 September in each year.

  NHSScotland Workforce Statistics

  Table 1: Scottish Ambulance Service Head Count, at 30 September

  

 
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005


All Scottish Ambulance Service
2,721
2,811
2,903
2,909
2,929
2,947
2,962
3,083
3,233
3,462
3,543
3,661


Whitley Grades
2,721
2,811
2,903
2,909
2,929
2,947
2,962
3,083
3,233
3,462
3,543
3,661


Grades 7-10 and Senior Management
58
57
68
63
65
55
60
69
71
67
72
78


Grades 4-6
35
25
29
31
28
31
36
38
50
52
62
70


Grades 1-3
78
76
68
61
61
63
54
53
56
60
61
61


Ambulance and control officer
230
232
238
245
260
263
264
285
322
371
369
366


AmbulanceMan3,4
669
1,455
1,440
1,472
1,457
1,464
1,485
1,483
1,520
1,566
1,672
1,697


Leading Ambulance man
239
237
246
256
264
257
259
250
231
321
332
337


Trainee Ambulance man
80
162
142
98
82
85
66
129
159
196
111
138


Care assistant3
-
-
538
546
576
604
624
616
634
687
659
723


Ancillary Staff2
36
31
34
32
23
20
17
17
17
21
20
23


Trades2
51
49
48
50
59
59
56
58
58
60
61
59


Other3
1,245
487
52
55
54
46
41
85
115
61
124
109



  Source: ISD Scotland.

  NHSScotland Workforce Statistics

  Table 1: Scottish Ambulance Service Whole-Time Equivalent, at 30 September

  

 
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005


All Scottish Ambulance Service
2,645
2,722
2,798
2,791
2,813
2,829
2,842
2,967
3,112
3,335
3,398
3,514


Whitley Grades
2,645
2,722
2,798
2,791
2,813
2,829
2,842
2,967
3,112
3,335
3,398
3,514


Grades 7-10 and Senior Management
58
57
68
63
65
55
60
69
71
67
72
78


Grades 4-6
35
25
29
31
28
30
36
37
48
51
60
67


Grades 1-3
75
73
64
55
55
56
47
48
50
51
51
53


Ambulance and control officer
229
230
234
240
253
258
258
278
315
366
361
357


Ambulance man3,4
605
1,445
1,433
1,458
1,442
1,448
1,465
1,462
1,501
1,546
1,648
1,671


Leading Ambulance man 
239
237
246
256
264
257
259
250
231
318
330
336


Trainee Ambulance man
80
159
133
92
79
81
63
124
155
192
103
132


Care assistant3
-
-
475
480
509
537
553
565
583
623
606
660


Ancillary Staff2
28
24
26
25
17
14
12
12
11
15
15
17


Trades2
51
49
48
50
59
59
56
58
58
60
61
59


Other3
1,245
424
41
41
42
35
33
63
89
46
92
84



  Source: ISD Scotland.

  Notes:

  1. Includes ambulance staff, ancillary staff, maintenance staff, administrative and clerical staff and senior management.

  2. The number of staff in these categories is dependent upon whether the service is provided by directly employed staff or by external agencies.

  3. In 1994 and 1995, it is not possible to provide a detailed breakdown by Whitley grade for all staff. In 1994, staff recorded as "other" were predominately ambulance men and care assistants; in 1995 staff recorded as "other" were predominately care assistants.

  4. Ambulance man is a Whitley Council grade/post descriptor and covers both sexes and workers Scottish Ambulance Service identified a discrepancy with the 2006 data which ISD are investigating further, therefore 2006 figures for Scottish Ambulance Service are not shown.

Autism

Mike Pringle (Edinburgh South) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what support it gives to people with Asperger syndrome.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government works collaboratively with voluntary sector organisations, service users and carers on groups such as the national ASD Reference Group and the ASD education working group, to develop appropriate and responsive services for people on the autism spectrum including those with Asperger syndrome.

  In consultation with the reference group, the Scottish Government has funded a number of pilot projects to help meet the diverse needs of children, young people and adults with autism spectrum disorders and their carers, including a one stop shop for adults with Asperger syndrome in Edinburgh. These pilot projects aim to inform service development in other areas.

  The Scottish Government also provides significant funding each year to help local authorities make provision for children and young people with additional support needs, including Asperger syndrome. In 2007-08 this funding included £44.7 million specifically for: the implementation of the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004; inclusion, and the training and development of staff working with pupils with additional support needs. It is a matter for education authorities to decide how to allocate this funding in the light of local needs and circumstances.

Autism

Mike Pringle (Edinburgh South) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what support it gives to Intowork to help people with Asperger syndrome.

Nicola Sturgeon: A range of Scottish Government funding, which can help support people with autism spectrum disorders to prepare for and find work, is available to local agencies. These include local authorities, health boards, local enterprise bodies and some non-departmental public bodies who are best placed to make decisions about funding local organisations.

Dentistry

Jamie Hepburn (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many NHS dentists have (a) not accepted and (b) accepted new patients in each year since 1995, broken down by (i) Scottish parliamentary constituency; (ii) Scottish parliamentary region, (iii) local authority area and (iv) NHS board area.

Nicola Sturgeon: This information is not held. Dentists are not obliged to advise NHS boards if they are accepting or have stopped accepting new NHS patients.

Dyslexia

Jamie Hepburn (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how dyslexia awareness is included in teacher training courses.

Fiona Hyslop: Student teachers are given general tuition and guidance on how to recognise and support pupils with additional support needs, including dyslexia, as part of a series of core and elective modules within initial teacher education courses.

  The Executive are also funding a pioneering new project at Aberdeen University, providing £1.39 million over 2005-10, to embed inclusive approaches to teaching for pupils with additional support needs, including dyslexia, within initial teacher education. The findings and best practice will be disseminated to other initial teacher education providers.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the recommended distance is between electricity pylons and homes or schools.

Nicola Sturgeon: The operators of overhead power lines are required to maintain safe conditions in compliance with the Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity (Amendment) Regulations 2006. Provisions for ensuring the necessary clearances from overhead conductors are in Electricity Supply Industry’s Standard 43-8, "Overhead Line Clearances". The necessary clearance at a specific location will depend on several factors, including local structures, and the construction, design and operating voltage of the line.

  There are no similar regulatory controls pertaining to distance for exposures to electric and magnetic fields, but operators must ensure that exposures for members of the public do not exceed the guidelines of the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection.

Health

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is any proven evidence linking childhood leukaemia to the proximity of electricity pylons.

Nicola Sturgeon: Some studies have associated proximity of residence to high voltage power lines and the risk of childhood leukaemia. However, the Radiation Protection Division of the Health Protection Agency advises that the epidemiological evidence is not strong enough to justify the firm conclusion that electric and magnetic fields from power lines cause leukaemia in children.

Health

Nicol Stephen (Aberdeen South) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will bring forward proposals for a local Healthcare Bill.

Nicola Sturgeon: It is my intention to begin a wide ranging consultation on proposals for a local Healthcare Bill during the autumn and to engage with all those interested to help shape our final proposals. The consultation will seek views on how best to secure our objective of achieving greater patient and community involvement in the delivery of local health services.

Health

Nicol Stephen (Aberdeen South) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has begun consultation on a Patients’ Rights Bill.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government is committed to ensure that it builds a health service that is genuinely focused on the needs of patients. The government’s new action plan for 2008-09 and beyond, which will be developed through widespread public and clinical consultation, will include a new whole journey waiting time target of 18 weeks. The government is also committed to greater involvement of local people in the planning of health care, and an element of direct election to NHS boards. It will consult on the legislation that is necessary to meet that aim. The government will also begin consultation on a Patients’ Rights Bill during the next year.

Health

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will list the parties who have access to a patient’s medical records without (a) explicit authorisation and (b) the information being anonymised and whether changes have been made to these lists in each year since 1999, identifying these changes.

Nicola Sturgeon: Personal health information is protected by the Data Protection Act and the common law duty of confidentiality.

  NHS staff and contractors are authorised to use personal health information for a range of activities necessary to the provision of care and treatment, including medical diagnosis, patient care, planning, statistics, payment, clinical governance, clinical and financial audits. Unauthorised individuals are not given access to personal health information.

  NHS organisations take steps to protect personal health information from unauthorised access, such as controlling physical access to medical records libraries and putting password protection on electronically stored personal health information. As records are increasingly moved to an electronic storage medium, there are opportunities to not only make access controls clearer, but also to audit access to the information. These issues are being considered within the Scottish Government’s eHealth programme.

  Personal health information, once anonymised so that a patient is no longer identifiable, is not protected by the common law duty of confidentiality or the Data Protection Act. Patients have a right to know when it is intended that their information will be anonymised for appropriate purposes, such as medical research, and NHS organisations have mechanisms in place to approve the use of anonymised data for research purposes.

Health

Jamie Hepburn (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people per medical doctor there are and what comparative information it has for (a) the United Kingdom as a whole, (b) each EU member state and (c) each OECD nation.

Nicola Sturgeon: 1. Scotland had 2.7 physicians per 1,000 population in 2005, (Scottish Health Statistics (ISD) and General Register Office (GRO)).

  2. The UK had 2.4 physicians per 1,000 population in 2005, (Organisation for Economic Development and Organisation, OECD.

  3. Table 1 shows how many physicians per 1000 population each EU member state had in 2005 (unless stated otherwise).

  Table 1 – Physicians Per 1,000 Population, EU

  

Country
Physicians Per 1,000 Population


Austria
3.5


Belgium
4.0


Bulgaria
3.6


Cyprus
2.3


Czech Republic
3.6


Denmark
2.9 (2002)


Estonia
4.4 (2000)


Finland
2.4


France
3.4


Germany
3.4


Greece
4.3 (2001)


Hungary
3.0


Ireland
2.8


Italy
3.8


Latvia
3.2


Lithuania
3.9


Luxembourg
2.5


Malta
3.5


Netherlands
3.7


Poland
2.1


Portugal
3.4


Romania
1.9


Slovakia
3.1 (2003)


Slovenia
2.2 (2002)


Spain 
3.8


Sweden
3.3 (2002)



  Source: World Health Organization (WHO) and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

  4. Table 2 shows physicians per 1,000 population for OECD nations in 2005 (unless otherwise stated).

  

Country
Physicians per 1,000 population


Australia
2.8 (2001)


Canada
2.2


Iceland
3.7


Japan
2.0 (2002)


Korea
1.6


Mexico
1.8


New Zealand
2.4 (2001)


Norway
3.7


Switzerland
3.8


Turkey
1.4 (2003)


United States
2.4



  Source: World Health Organization (WHO) and Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

  5. It should be noted the figures quoted do not say anything about access or quality of care citizens in these countries receive. It is simply a ratio of physicians to population.

  6. The methodologies behind these figures vary. For example, some countries arrive at the figure by including interns and both public and private physicians while others do not. Some countries also include domestic physicians who are working abroad. Overall, therefore the figures are not directly comparable.

  7. The figures are based on headcount or total numbers of physicians. They do not take into account different working patterns that exist in different countries which will also impact on the type of care received. Similarly, the type of care and services a physician provides in each country will not necessarily be comparable.

Individual Learning Accounts

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many learners in the (a) Dundee, (b) Angus and (c) Aberdeenshire local authority areas have received financial support through Individual Learning Account Scotland since 2004.

Fiona Hyslop: In the Dundee, Angus and Aberdeenshire Local Authority areas the Individual Learning Account Scotland scheme has supported 3,255 learners since 2004. This is broken down by each Local Authority area in the following table.

  

Council Area
Number of ILA Scotland funded learners


Aberdeenshire
2,030


Angus
614


Dundee
611


Total
3,255

Justice

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans the Cabinet Secretary for Justice has to review all existing communications interception warrants authorised by Scottish ministers in the last 12 months.

Kenny MacAskill: When authorising the interception of communications, Scottish ministers must first satisfy themselves that interception is both necessary and proportionate for the prevention or detection of serious crime.

  I have no plans to review all interception warrants signed in the last 12 months.

  Independent statutory oversight of the powers and duties conferred on the Scottish ministers by the sections of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 which govern the authorisation of interception of communications is provided by the Interception of Communications Commissioner, currently Sir Paul Kennedy.

  The commissioner’s latest annual report, for 2005-06, was laid before the Scottish Parliament on 19 February 2007 (document number SE/2007/17).

Justice

Cathy Peattie (Falkirk East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions in district courts have been undertaken in each year since 2000 and in how many cases procurator fiscals decided not to prosecute, also broken down by region.

Kenny MacAskill: The available information is given in the following table. Statistics on the number of district court cases closed as no further proceedings are not identifiable from the information held centrally.

  Persons Proceeded Against1 in District Courts, 2000-01 to 2005-06

  

District Court
2000-015
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
2005-06


Aberdeen City2
2,199
2,139
2,020
2,277
1,967
1,985


Aberdeenshire2
1,633
1,741
1,447
1,297
1,341
1,393


Angus 
1,308
1,194
1,458
1,797
1,423
1,265


Argyll and Bute 
624
657
536
570
383
169


Clackmannanshire 
517
461
388
622
651
620


Dumfries and Galloway
1,490
956
954
1,053
1,634
2,022


Dundee City 
2,486
1,913
2,124
2,504
2,300
2,232


East Ayrshire 
1,255
922
749
1,059
1,407
1,521


East Dunbartonshire
286
308
245
193
285
122


East Lothian 
379
352
384
337
365
273


East Renfrewshire 
249
207
222
216
212
103


Edinburgh, City of 
2,975
2,814
2,470
2,776
2,876
2,960


Eilean Siar2
64
56
72
84
100
88


Falkirk 
1,901
1,709
1,458
1,308
1,442
1,617


Fife 
2,428
2,461
2,138
2,631
2,584
1,953


Glasgow City3
7,812
10,245
9,202
11,850
13,978
13,235


Highland2
1,669
2,213
2,769
3,214
3,134
2,564


Inverclyde 
1,217
965
843
799
522
181


Midlothian 
495
340
368
374
352
333


Moray 
421
535
346
501
521
408


North Ayrshire 
936
783
601
752
661
866


North Lanarkshire 
3,690
3,959
3,121
3,813
3,408
3,694


Perth and Kinross 
1,468
2,045
1,583
1,745
1,535
1,315


Renfrewshire 
842
689
629
714
883
737


Scottish Borders 
1,006
1,274
1,181
1,094
1,299
1,619


South Ayrshire 
1,368
1,074
1,157
936
812
801


South Lanarkshire 
2,494
2,908
2,154
2,048
2,094
2,576


Stirling 
805
751
808
1,114
1,035
885


West Dunbartonshire
757
925
785
885
695
260


West Lothian 
988
1,101
1,147
1,063
1,022
875


All district courts24
45,763
47,698
43,364
49,637
50,924
48,678



  Notes:

  1. May exclude some acquittals due to recording delays.

  2. Figure for 2000-01 excludes some prosecutions for motor vehicle offences.

  3. Includes the stipendiary magistrates court.

  4. Includes a small number of cases where district court is unknown.

  5. The figures for some courts will have been affected by the industrial action taken by district court staff in late 2000 and early 2001.

Justice

Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what consideration is being to the provision of justice of the peace signing duties, based on qualified individuals in possession of relevant local knowledge and on geographic location, after the provisions of the Criminal Proceedings etc. (Reform) (Scotland) Act 2007 come into force.

Kenny MacAskill: We intend to publicise widely the forthcoming changes to the arrangements for the signing of documents, and, through the Scottish Executive’s links with justices, we will monitor the impact of the reforms on signing services.

  These include justices appointed under the new arrangements and all local authority elected members whose role includes making themselves available to their constituents. In addition, any member of the public who is of good standing and has known an individual for at least two years can countersign or act as referee for many purposes such as passport applications.

Justice

Jamie Hepburn (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what legal advice it has received in respect of whether activities characterised as extraordinary rendition are illegal under Scots and international law and what its position is on the matter.

Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Executive has stated its opposition to extraordinary rendition. We consider torture to be an abhorrent practice and take our international obligations to this very seriously. We believe that under Scots law all the appropriate procedures are in place for the investigation of crimes of torture, attempt or conspiracy to commit torture and other possible related offences including abduction and assault and that the punishments available to courts reflect the grave nature of the offences.

Justice

Stuart McMillan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what investigations have been carried out by the police into reported child trafficking through Scottish airports.

Kenny MacAskill: Child trafficking is a very serious crime, and the police will thoroughly investigate any reports they receive of children being trafficked into or out of Scotland. For operational reasons, it is not possible to disclose details of individual investigations into reports of child trafficking. However, Scottish police forces will be participating in Operation Pentameter 2 later this year, a UK-wide multi-agency operation targeted at all forms of human trafficking.

Justice

Stuart McMillan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what meetings have taken place between its officials and Strathclyde Police regarding reported child trafficking through Scottish airports.

Kenny MacAskill: Scottish Executive officials have met with Strathclyde Police on a number of occasions to discuss a range of issues relating to human trafficking. Executive officials sit on the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland Working Group on Human Trafficking, which has been established to co-ordinate the Scottish police forces’ response to human trafficking.

Justice

Stuart McMillan (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what meetings have taken place between its officials and the owners of Scottish airports regarding reported child trafficking through Scottish airports.

Kenny MacAskill: Scottish Executive officials have not met directly with the owners of Scottish airports regarding child trafficking.

  However, the UK Action Plan on Human Trafficking, jointly published by the Scottish Executive and the Home Office in March 2007, identifies a number of actions designed to tackle trafficking through airports and other ports of entry. In particular, police and UK Border & Immigration Agency staff working at ports of entry to the UK are receiving specialist training to ensure they have the tools and expertise to identify victims of trafficking. Work is also being undertaken by the Home Office in collaboration with the airline industry to develop a Code of Practice on the carriage of minors.

Justice

Nicol Stephen (Aberdeen South) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will bring forward proposals for a criminal justice Bill.

Kenny MacAskill: I refer the member to the answer to question S3O-246 on 14 June 2007 which is available on the Parliament’s website: http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-07/sor0614-02.htm#Col781 .

Justice

Gil Paterson (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether consideration is being given to increase statutory sentences for those convicted of serious and violent crime.

Kenny MacAskill: The Scottish Government keep the sentencing limits for those statutory offences which are devolved under regular review. A substantial proportion of serious and violent crime in Scotland is prosecuted under the common law: this includes murder, culpable homicide, rape and serious assault. There are no limits on the penalties that may be imposed for common law crimes, other than the sentencing powers in the court in which the offender is prosecuted.

Justice

Gil Paterson (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are any plans to increase the punishment part of life sentences.

Kenny MacAskill: There is no statutory limit on the length of a punishment part of a life sentence. The period imposed is a matter for the sentencing judge and is the period which he or she considers appropriate to satisfy the requirements of retribution and deterrence. The punishment part is appealable both by the defence and by the Crown.

Legal Aid

Cathy Peattie (Falkirk East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many requests for legal aid have been made where it was specified that the applicants had a disability which would prevent them from understanding proceedings in each year since 2000 and, of these, how many have been refused, also broken down by region.

Kenny MacAskill: Information on the number of applications for the four main types of legal aid - advice and assistance, civil legal aid, summary criminal legal aid and solemn criminal legal aid - from those with a disability is not collected centrally.

Legal Aid

Cathy Peattie (Falkirk East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many requests for legal aid have been made by people appearing in district courts where it was specified that the applicants had a disability which would prevent them from understanding proceedings in each year since 2000 and, of these, how many have been refused, also broken down by region.

Kenny MacAskill: Information on the disabilities of applicants for legal aid is not recorded centrally. The application form for summary criminal legal aid questions whether the accused is able to understand the proceedings or to state his own case because of his age, inadequate knowledge of English, mental illness, other mental or physical disability or otherwise. Information offered in reply to that question is taken into consideration, alongside other factors, by the Scottish Legal Aid Board when assessing the application.

Legal Aid

Cathy Peattie (Falkirk East) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions have been undertaken in each year since 2000 where requests for legal aid have been made by persons appearing in district courts and it has been specified that the applicants had disabilities which would prevent them from understanding proceedings but legal aid has been refused and in how many such cases procurator fiscals decided not to prosecute, also broken down by region.

Kenny MacAskill: Information on the number of cases procurators fiscal prosecuted since 2000 is given in the response the answer to question S3W-2143 on 13 August 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

  Statistics on the number of court cases closed as no further proceedings are not identifiable from the information held centrally.

  Information on the number of requests for legal aid made by people appearing in district courts since 2000 where it was specified that the applicants had a disability which would prevent them from understanding proceedings in each year since 2000 is not held centrally.

  The prosecutor is not informed, and would be unlikely to be aware, whether legal aid had been applied for or granted and, in any event, his or her consideration of a case would not be affected by this. Assuming that the report indicates that there is sufficient admissible evidence of a crime committed by the accused, and that the evidence is reliable and credible, the Procurator Fiscal must consider which of the available options would best serve the public interest.

  Where it is known that an accused is suffering from a mental disorder, prosecution policy requires procurators fiscal to commence proceedings in the sheriff or High Court. If information comes to light during proceedings in the district court to indicate that an accused has a mental disorder, the prosecutor will make application in terms of section 52A of the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 for transfer to the sheriff court.

Prescription Charges

Nicol Stephen (Aberdeen South) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will bring forward legislation to phase out prescription charges.

Nicola Sturgeon: We remain committed to our pledge to abolish NHS prescription charges and plan to inform Parliament shortly on how we intend to deliver that commitment.

Prison Service

Kenneth Gibson (Cunninghame North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many violent incidents have taken place in prisons in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available, broken down by prison.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Mike Ewart, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  The information requested is available from 2001. The information from 2001 is shown in the following table.

  

 
2001-02
2002-03
2003-04
2004-05
2005-06
2006-07


Aberdeen
47
59
39
20
69
79


Barlinnie
111
122
80
88
98
147


Castle Huntly
2
0
8
2
1
2


Cornton Vale
28
26
21
29
55
55


Dumfries
15
17
19
16
36
27


Edinburgh
72
103
83
105
192
168


Glenochil
23
20
24
27
25
25


Glenochil YOI
11
17
0
0
0
0


Greenock
18
24
33
45
35
54


Inverness
3
2
14
5
38
40


Kilmarnock
96
164
117
87
116
102


Low Moss
25
33
19
32
27
23


Noranside
1
1
1
1
3
0


Perth
21
52
94
104
93
73


Peterhead
18
25
13
5
12
15


Polmont
56
82
153
320
389
349


Shotts
27
37
42
28
40
33



  These figures, and comparisons between year and between establishments, should be treated with caution. "Violent incident" may refer to a minor scuffle between two prisoners, through to a serious assault. Establishments’ functions and numbers of inmates have also changed significantly in the period."

Sex Offenders

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review time bar restrictions in bringing child sex offenders to justice.

Kenny MacAskill: Currently, the only sexual offence against a child for which a time bar remains in place is section 13(5)(c) of the Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995. This criminalises the commission of a homosexual act where the act is carried out with a person under the age of 16 years. Section 13(11)(b) of that act requires that proceedings be commenced within 12 months from the date of the offence.

  The Scottish Law Commission are currently reviewing the law on rape and sexual offences in Scotland. In their discussion paper, published in January 2006, they recommended that all existing homosexual offences should be removed, and where homosexual conduct involved lack of consent of one of the parties, of where it is with children, it should be covered by more general offences of rape, penetrative assault and sexual activity with children.

Smoking

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it intends to take to reduce smoking-attributable mortality in all ages and genders in the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde area, in light of it having the highest such mortality rate of any NHS board area.

Nicola Sturgeon: The Scottish Government is making substantial levels of specific funding available to Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS Board for the provision of smoking cessation services and related tobacco control activity to reduce the incidence of smoking related morbidity and mortality in the area. In 2007-08, the Board’s allocation is £2,569,000 including £800,000 for the tobacco control element of the Keep Well initiatives in East and North Glasgow.

  Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS Board is strongly committed to reducing smoking prevalence within the area and have had a comprehensive tobacco control strategy in place for a number of years. The substantial increases in the funding made available by the Scottish government over the last three years, has enabled the board to considerably expand these tobacco control activities. As a result, a comprehensive, integrated, smoking cessation service has been established across the board area and a range of other tobacco control measures, such as prevention and education, are being pursued. The board is also currently reviewing the overarching tobacco control strategy in light of recent developments, including structural changes, to ensure that the contribution of all relevant health improvement partners within local Community Health Partnerships is harnessed effectively to reduce smoking-related harm within the area.

Student Finance

Nicol Stephen (Aberdeen South) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will introduce a Bill to abolish tuition fees by removing the graduate endowment.

Fiona Hyslop: I intend to introduce legislation to abolish the graduate endowment fee in the autumn of this year. A consultation on the proposed bill was launched on 13 July 2007 and is due to close on 7 September 2007.

Teachers

Hugh Henry (Paisley South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will influence the number of teachers employed by local authorities.

Fiona Hyslop: We have ambitious plans for increasing teacher numbers in pre-school and class sizes in P1 to P3 which will affect the overall numbers of teachers employed by local authorities. We are currently considering ways to ensure that our overall objectives can be met.

Teachers

Hugh Henry (Paisley South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when the target of 53,000 teachers will be met.

Fiona Hyslop: We have confirmed that the additional funding of £50.3 million for authorities to reach the target of 53,000 teachers will remain in place. Provided the previous administration’s plans prove adequate the target of 53,000 teachers should be met this autumn.

Teachers

Hugh Henry (Paisley South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many additional teaching posts will be created by Renfrewshire Council as a result of its promised additional 300 posts for Scotland.

Fiona Hyslop: Funding has been provided for 300 additional teachers. However, the exact number employed by each local authority will depend on the placement on the teacher salary scale of the individuals involved.

Teachers

Hugh Henry (Paisley South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when any additional teaching posts in Renfrewshire, arising from its promised additional 300 posts for Scotland, will be filled.

Fiona Hyslop: This is a matter for the local authority concerned but we will be monitoring the employment of teachers through the National Priorities Action Fund.

Teachers

Hugh Henry (Paisley South) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of its promised additional 300 teaching posts it intends to create in voluntary and private sector nurseries.

Fiona Hyslop: The deployment of the additional teachers is a matter for local authorities within the broad parameters we have set.